Beautiful Bully Butterfly
by AuAu
Summary: Arnold was sadden to see Helga being so mean, so he was trying to help her. One day he asked her to be his friend. Did she accept? Or did she decline? What will happen after that? This story mainly focuses on Arnold and Helga


This is my first fanfic ever!! Well...sorta, this story I wrote for something else. Before I wrote it I based it on Hey Arnold!, except I changed some of the stuff and make it more less of a Fanfic. Now I am twisting it back to Hey Arnold! style. This is story is kinda light, but I hope some one out there will like it.  
  
DISCLAIMER: Do I really have to do this?? You all know this! You all know the drills! I am not Craig Barlett, I don't own Hey Arnold! I am not related to anyone who associate with the show. I'm simply JUST A FAN!!!! Sheeesh! Please don't sue me for that!  
  
Well, here goes nothing....  
  
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Beautiful Bully Butterfly  
  
By: AuAu  
  
March 30, 2003  
  
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The bell rang and students from each classroom poured out into the school's hallway. It was lunchtime. She was sitting there alone again, dazing off into space with no apparent motives in mind. The 8-year-old blonde girl was wearing a bored and expressionless countenance upon her face. Everyone who passed her by stared at her strangely; however, her expression was almost unreadable. They have that "What is she doing?" look plastered on their faces. But no one had the courage to go up to her and ask if she was okay. They were scared for their lives. Since a few years ago, she had a reputation for being the class bully, and she was not very likeable. Every morning she would stomp across the hall by herself looking angry and shoved kids out of her way or into lockers. "What are you looking at, bucko?" or "One side, moron!" were a couple lines she said. Almost everybody was scared of what she would do to hurt him or her.  
  
As the students ran into the cafeteria to get their lunch, Helga slowly opened up her lunchbox. She frowned. It was the usual: a few pieces of napkins, a couple packs of individual packaged crackers and an energy bar. She knew that Bob would never take the time of his day to care for her and Mariam was usually asleep with her smoothies. At least there were no shaving cream or motor oil this time. But with this tiny amount of food, she knew that they were not going to fill her stomach. There was no way that she could get through the school day without feeling starving again. So she got up and walked over to the geek, Eugene.  
  
"Hey! Eugene! Go get me something to eat! Otherwise my fist will be eating you for lunch!" she said with a commanding voice. "O-o-kay," Eugene went to get Helga a lunch in a jiffy after he responded. Eugene came back with a hamburger, a bowl of tapioca and a can of pop and set it on the table. "H-h-ere you go, He-l-ga" "Thank you!" with a rude attitude, she snatched the tray of food and walked away.  
  
Not so far away, a boy, who was one of Helga's classmates, saw the whole situation. His sight scrolled across the lunchroom, fixed on Helga, as she walked back to her seat. He ignore his best friend, Gerald, talking about the summer vacation that was soon approaching and his speech slowly turned into murmur. The boy observed and pondered, wondering why Helga was the way she was, so mean and bad to the bone. How could someone be so hostile in their nature? Maybe it was acceptable if it was an one day thing when she had a bad day. But the boy had known her almost all his life now, and she had been acting the same everyday ever since he could remembered. She always had that mean attitude and a stinging scowl. Somehow the boy remained convinced that Helga had her good side somewhere deep down. She just need to bring it out and let her light shine.  
  
"Man, hey Arnold! Can you believe it?! Freedom is in a week and TWO DAYS!! I mean, think about it: baseball, fishin', the arcade, the rides in the park, all the movies you can see, all the ice-cream you can eat! Mmm-mm- mmh! This is going to be a blast! I'm going to be having fun all vacation long," exclaimed Gerald. No response.  
  
Suddenly Helga noticed his stare at her and got a bit uncomfortable. She gave him a scowl that seems to say "What are you staring at?" to try to get her message across. Then she got up, dumped the trash into the garbage and left. Because of Helga's glare, the boy's trance was broken and went back to reality. The boy noticed that his best friend was calling him and his own tapioca was dripping back into his bowl.  
  
"Hey Arnold! What are you doing, man?" "Huh?" the boy replied with confusion. "It's been the fifth time I called you! You are about to have your favorite tapioca, and you are starin' off to space! Are you okay, buddy? What are you staring at anyway?" "Oh, sorry, Gerald. It's just that I have a lot on my mind that's all." Arnold paused and continued. "You know, Helga always pick on people, it has become her pastime. Since she picks on them so much, you think she would be happy by the end of the day. But I can clearly see sadness consuming her behind that mean and nasty look." "So what's your point?" Gerald asked, sounding disinterested. "I almost feel sorry for her," Arnold said looking down at his tapioca, stirring it slowly in circles. "Helga? The bully? Why?" "Well... I truly believe that she has another side, a more gentle side of her, that she is hiding that from all of us, and I think I am going to find that good side of her. Once I do, I will help her bring it out." "Arnold, you have almost helped everyone in our grade with one thing or another, take a break man!" Arnold shook his head, and Gerald understood what his best friend meant. "You just have to do it, don't you?" "Yep," Arnold answered with a smile on his face. "You're a bold kid Arnold. A bold kid." With that Arnold left his best friend and went to find Helga, the bully.  
  
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Arnold dashed onto the playground where all the kids played. He looked for Helga, and spotted her sitting alone on a bench staring off to space again. Phoebe, Helga's best and one and only friend, wasn't there. She was out of town for the month due to family issues. Arnold slowly walked over and took a seat on the same bench. He was about to open his mouth for a conversation, but then Helga spoke.  
  
"What do you want, Football Head?" Helga asked with a slight hostile tone and continued to stare forward without taking a peek at him. Arnold did not expect her to start the conversation first. "Um, I, I," Arnold stammered and felt scared of Helga for a second. "C'mon! Speak already! I haven't got all day!" Helga spoke with impatience. "I, I just want to say hi," finally finishing his thought.  
  
Helga turned and looked at him with a shocked and surprised expression. It seemed like no one had ever said that to her. Then she scoffed and returned her gaze forward. Starting a conversation with someone Arnold did not know very well was not a talent that he had, especially with the bully.  
  
"Well, is that all you wanted to say?" Helga finally asked with more gentle tone, but she still sounded a bit harsh. "Well..." "If you don't have anything more to say to me, you should go." Arnold stumbled and have no clue what else he should do next. Certainly he was not planning to just get up and leave. "What should I say?" Arnold thought. "I just think you are too mean, you should change your ways, and I can help you? ...No, that's just not right." Thoughts flew through his mind. Finally he found something to say, hoping Helga would accept him for once.  
  
"Hey Helga," he began calmly, with a gentle voice looking at her, even though she continue to stare forward. "We have known each other ever since pre-school: We have been in the same classes, but we never really talked. We barely know each other." Arnold paused to make sure Helga was still listening to him and he decided to continue. "Well, I was just wondering if you would like to be friends."  
  
At first Helga looked surprised, but then she returned to normal, with her face facing forward again. "What are you saying, Hair-boy? You just have to be friends with everyone and always do the right thing, don't you? Well, I don't need your pity."  
  
"I'm not pitying you," Arnold ignored her previous comment about him. "Then what are you doing?" "I'm just offering to be your friend. If you don't like it, you can always bail. What's there to loose?" Arnold sticking out his right hand, waiting for Helga to shake in agreement.  
  
Helga was silent for a moment. She looked like she was in deep thought, making the decision of her life. A few minutes passed, and she did not say anything. Arnold started to wonder if Helga had forgotten that he was there waiting for an answer from her. So he tilted his head a little bit with his hand still sticking out, to see if she was still mentally there. Little did he know what she was really thinking. 'Oh joy! Oh rapture! My beloved is finally noticing me, and he just asked me to be his friend! Oohh!' Despite of what she was thinking, she managed to keep her composure Helga turned her head towards him and stared at him for a while, as if to check his sincerity. Then her lips slowly curled into a tiny smile and shook Arnold's hand. It was one of the few times that he had seen her smile, if not the first. As small a smile it may be, he didn't care; it was genuine and beautiful. He had to admit that he enjoyed watching Helga smile.  
  
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The new friendship started rocky, but it was undeniably blossoming. Their friendship might be gradual, but both parties seemed to start to get to know each other. Everyone was shocked to see Helga with a friend, and not just any friend. It was Arnold, the nicest kid around the whole school also the kid whom she used to torment every waking day of her life. The world just stopped and looked at them. However Helga still bullied people around, even though the amount of it had visibly decreased. One reason for this was that Helga was hanging with Arnold, so she had less time to torture people. People always say that once you spend more time with an individual, some of their personalities will pour onto them. For the two friends, Arnold's gentler side did obviously rubbed some off of Helga's.  
  
After school, they sometimes hung out, usually inviting Gerald. They went to the arcade, the park, the dock as well as other places they could talk, visit or just to have fun. They learned to enjoy each other's company, though it took a while for Gerald to get used to hang around with a girl who used to be a bully. The day before graduation, Arnold was walking Helga home. He had learned something about Helga that probably nobody at school would know.  
  
"I had a really great time today," Arnold finally said and Helga smiled once again. "Yeah, I have never had such a good time before. Actually I can never imagine a better day." "You are kidding! It would be a lot more fun if we have more time and able to do more things. Haven't your parents taken you to these places?" "No. They never did." "Why not?" "Because Bob has his Beeper Emporium and Mariam has her smoothies. Everyday it's been the same. After I get home from school, Mariam will be either sleeping on the kitchen counter with her smoothies or fell asleep on the couch. Bob will be home within a few hours and he will just sit in front of the TV watching and yelling. Whenever we talk, we end up arguing and yelling. So what's the point of talking really when you know it will turn out all the same? If we can't even talk, why asking them to take me to places?" "Don't you have a sister?" "Well, yes. I have one, a great one." Arnold could clearly sensed her sarcasm in her tone. "She is perfect." "What do you mean?" "I mean whenever she comes back from college, Bob will take time off his work and Mariam will be away with her smoothies for once to see their perfect daughter, Olga . They would bragged about all the times she won all the contests she had participated in the past and all the straight "A"s she got in school. for years. In my house, there is nothing of me. It's always Olga! Trophies and pictures...they're all my sister's." she paused for a while. "They don't care about me! As long as I can remember they have been ignoring me ever since I can walk! I have to do everything myself since I was a baby in order to survive!"  
  
What Helga said left Arnold in awe. Was she exaggerating her problems? Could her parents really be that bad, that heartless? All her life she had been living under her sister's shadow. She never came out of it because she never had the chance to. Soon they were at the door step of Helga's house.  
  
"What about school? What happened?" Arnold asked out of curiosity and an attempt to get to know Helga's situation before she turned herself in for the day. Even he had known her all his life, he still didn't understand what truly made Helga to become a bully. Could those silly pranks just be something she did to take out her anger for her parents?  
  
"School," Helga started to answer as she opened her door. She walked in and motioned Arnold to do the same. Once they were in, Helga continued, "at first I thought by going there, I could take a breather from my not so perfect family life. But instead I had experienced massive bullying and taunting. So the message I got was to be strong, and no one will be able to see me get weak; no one will be able to see my tears and no one will have the nerve to disrespect you, so you can get what you want. I guess everyday I became meaner and meaner to protect my reputation. Eventually I had adapt bullying to be part of my lifestyle."  
  
Arnold just listen to Helga in silence and amazement. At the same time he was in deep though. "I guess her life is not a life that every kid wanted. Her life is hard, and I thought mine was hard. At least I have a family who loves me, who acknowledges me as their son, and recognizes me as part of the family. She doesn't. At least I have a best friend who I can tell things to, and have lunch with. She doesn't. She doesn't even have someone who she can share ice-cream with!"  
  
"So you are the first one. You are like my first friend, really. Before you I had no friends, and there was really no point in going out," she concluded.  
  
Arnold wished that he could somehow let Helga know that even though her family life is not ideal and perfect, but he would always be there for her. Instead he just said, "I am glad that you've made the decision to be friends."  
  
"Me too," she smiled.  
  
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Next day, the school bell rang at school for the last time for Arnold and Helga's graduating class. All the students with their parents gathered together in the school auditorium, listening to the Principal give a long speech that took forever and finally this year's graduating class was introduced and the familiar tune, "Pomp and Circumstances", was playing. Each students had smiles on their faces, including Helga, who proudly walked down as her name was called. Everyone in the graduating class were very proud of her, watching the dramatic change over the years. Especially Arnold, who had spent so much of his time fervently searching for the true Helga that was hiding deep down.  
  
The graduation ceremony was finally over, and all of the kids went to embrace their parents to share the happiness that was in their hearts. Since Helga's parents were busy with their jobs, they did not attend her ceremony. She just stood there watching her fellow classmates' joy and laughter. Seeing them being happy, she felt happy too. All of a sudden she sensed someone coming from behind her. It was Arnold.  
  
"Hey, your parents aren't here?" Helga looked at Arnold and back down to the ground. "No." "I'm sorry, Helga" "It's okay Arnold. I'm pretty much used to it," she replied sadly still staring at the ground.  
  
There was a silence between the two of them. Arnold was searching for the right words to say, hopefully they might be comforting to Helga. He also was in deep thought, thinking what kind of parents cared about their job so much that they wouldn't have taken a few hours off of their work to see their own daughter graduate. The thought angered him and he wished that Helga's parents were not like that, or at least willing to change. He finally started to speak.  
  
"Helga," they turned and looked at each other for a while before Arnold continued. "I consider you one of my best friends. I don't know if you feel the same way or not, but if anytime you are feeling lonely or just need someone to talk to, I'm always here."  
  
Helga's lips curled into a smile that seemed to acknowledge Arnold's sincerity.  
  
"Arnold!" They hugged each other tightly for a while. The two separated. "Well, I better get home," said Helga with a sad voice again.  
  
They said their goodbyes and Helga slowly walked away. Then she heard a shout towards her and she turned around.  
  
"Hey Helga! We are all going to go down to the ice-cream parlor to celebrate! Come and join us!"  
  
Her frown had disappeared and a smile quickly returned as she heard the invitation. She thought that this was much better than going home where no one cared about her. So she caught up with Arnold and the rest of the gang, and headed down to the ice-cream parlor. Arnold and Helga were walking side-by-side together, talking and laughing, while rest of the gang just stared at them like they went crazy. But they knew without a doubt that Arnold had just set a beautiful butterfly free that was trapped within the malicious bully. Inside both of their hearts they had a very strange feeling, and they didn't know what it was. 'What is this? I feel so weird...do I like her? I don't know. But I have a feeling that this friendship turn into something really good,' Arnold thought as he smiled and walked along with Helga. It was too complicated for them to be able to understand such sentiments. A sense of happiness, lifting of spirits and butterflies in their stomachs. Deep down they know that they really cared about each other more than just friends.  
  
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Well, so how was it??? How did I do?? Did I do good? Or do I deserved to be kicked out in the cold and be killed? R/R would be good. :D 


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